Palance Buckhannah is the brother of Balinor and son of Ruhl, who is the King of Callahorn, the Borderlands region just above the Southland. While his brother Balinor was away on the quest to find the Sword of Shannara, Palance assumed control of the throne when his father took ill. When Balinor returned, Palance, under the "guidance" of his advisor Stenmin, had his brother imprisoned along with his friends to ensure that the 'puppet' king stayed in charge. Palance took this action as a result of his mind being broken; Stenmin had systematically fed him a poison that slowly made him go insane. When its full hold took effect, Palance would listen only to Stenmin—and he was planning to betray Tyrsis to the Warlock Lord. However, Balinor and his companions escaped their dungeon and confronted